Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Shares Sold by Bernard Wealth Management Corp.

Bernard Wealth Management Corp. reduced its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,555 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 39 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for approximately 0.7% of Bernard Wealth Management Corp.’s holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Bernard Wealth Management Corp.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,539,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Corps Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Corps Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,547 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,463,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 8.6% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 126 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $119,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the period. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 2,035 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,925,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the period. MOKAN Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.4% during the first quarter. MOKAN Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,638 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,499,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aspect Partners LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 24.4% during the first quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $915.00, for a total value of $3,093,615.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 9,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,912,100. This represents a 25.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total transaction of $595,230.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 2,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,343,222.10. This represents a 20.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 7,981 shares of company stock worth $7,588,685. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COST has been the subject of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Wednesday. Roth Capital set a $907.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,160.00 to $1,050.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,137.00 to $1,140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,066.23.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 1.4%

COST stock opened at $930.01 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52-week low of $867.34 and a 52-week high of $1,078.23. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $952.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $971.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $412.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.07, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 0.98.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.81 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $86.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $86.01 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.94% and a return on equity of 30.09%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.15 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st were paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.56%.

Costco Wholesale Company Profile

Costco Wholesale Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the operation of membership warehouses in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico, Japan, the United Kingdom, Korea, Australia, Taiwan, China, Spain, France, Iceland, New Zealand, and Sweden. The company offers branded and private-label products in a range of merchandise categories.